Monday, April 23, 2012

“We’re going out, boys!” Staal hollered, slapping their goalie on the back as he walked out of the showers. Guys whooped in reply as they were taking off
their gear and slipping back into their suits.

James was sliding on his dress shoes, thinking about the 3-1
win. He had two power play goals against
his former team, the Dallas Stars. He had
to admit it felt good to score on them, almost like a “fuck you for trading
me.” But really, he loved Pittsburgh—the
team, the town, Charlie.

He was lost in thought about the blonde, blue-eyed girl when
Kris sat down next to him nudging him in the shoulder. “So?
Will we be seeing Charlotte tonight?” he asked excitedly.

“I will be, you guys won't,” he replied.

“You’re going to have to bring her around at some point, mon
ami,” Kris followed him out to the players parking lot. “She seems like a great girl, she could
handle the guys,” he encouraged.

James stopped, so abruptly that Kris practically ran into
him. “She doesn’t know,” he mumbled when
he turned around.

“Quoi?”

“Look,” James started, “Charlie’s not really a hockey fan. She has no idea what I do, about you guys,”

The Frenchman looked at him quizzically, “But when I met her
I mentioned tonight’s game,”

“I told her that I play in like a local league,” James hung
his head, embarrassed. “Look, I’m going
to tell her—when the time is right,”

“You do realize that this isn’t going to end well?” Kris sighed and shook his head in pity, “When there are lies involved, it never ends well.”

--

They walked straight up to the local hot spot, and with just
a nod from the bouncer they snaked their way into the club.

The air was thick and warm from the masses of bodies. It was dark except for the
colored lights above that jumpy, always spotlighting one person for no more than
a few seconds before moving on to the next.

James held Charlie by the hand firmly and led her to the
staircase in the far corner. The second
floor overlooked the dance floor below, it had it's own bar and was less crowded.

Charlie glanced down at her outfit and was glad she had
looked up the dress code. It wasn’t your
typical club all-out attire, but had she listened to James, she would have been
in jeans and a tee. Luckily she had
chosen a pair of red skinny jeans and a thin black spaghetti strap tank top,
sassy but casual.

She propped herself up onto a bar stool and turned towards
James, who stepped in between her legs.
“It’s crowded, trying to save space,” he winked, running a hand up and
down her thigh. “Drink?”

Within a matter of seconds James had a beer in his hand and
was passing her a rum and coke. It was
the fastest service Charlie had ever seen.
But it the idea was immediately gone from her mind as James leaned in to whisper
in her ear, “Have I told you how beautiful you look?”

“Only about five times,” Charlie giggled, “But I won’t ask
you to stop,”

He pulled away, stealing a quick kiss before taking a sip of
beer. “Aren’t your friends supposed to
be here?” she asked.

James looked around and scratched the back of his neck,
“They’re probably here somewhere,” he shrugged.

--

One beer and two rum and cokes later, Charlie and James were
having a great time. The second floor
quickly filled up with people looking for a good time. James ended up taking the bar stool and
Charlie stood snug in his lap. They were
lost in conversation when a tall, lanky blonde came up to James, clapping him
on the shoulder.

“First fucking star of the game!” Jordan shouted, wrapping
an arm around James’ shoulder. “I bet the
Stars are missing you and crying like pussies, fuck them! Right Nealer?”

James froze. The hair of the back of his neck stood up and
his mind raced. He had been avoiding the
guys all night, ignoring their numerous texts and phone calls. James had wanted to tell Charlie the
truth—especially after a game like tonight.
He wanted to celebrate, and he wanted her to join.

But of course, he chickened out. And now he wanted nothing more than to go
back in time and tell the truth. And to punch Jordan.

He finally looked down at Charlie, who tilted her head and
was looking between the two men, puzzled.

“You know, my boy here has great stamina on and off the ice,” Jordan
slurred, leaning too close to Charlie for James’ liking. Before he could do anything about it, Jordan was
pulled away by none other than the Frenchman.

“That piece of tail you’ve been chasing is waiting for you
downstairs at the bar, Staalsy,” Kris turned him towards the stairs before he
took off. “Sorry about him, no
manners. And he doesn’t know how to hold
his liquor,” he joked.

“Charlotte, it’s so nice to see you again!” Kris pulled
Charlie in for a hug. She gave him a
genuine smile before turning back to James.
“Um, what was he talking about?” she asked quietly.

“Who? Oh, Jordan?”
James scoffed. “Don’t pay attention to a
thing he says, no one ever does,”

Charlie wasn’t buying it.
Her brows were furrowed and her lips were pressed tightly together.

“Ma belle,” Kris piped up, “We had a game tonight, and our
friend James here scored us two goal to help us win!” James glared at Kris and was about to yell at
him before he noticed Kris subtly motioned with his hands saying that he had it
under control.

“Oh I didn’t know you had a game tonight," Charlie hummed. "Do you play with
James, Kris?” she asked.

“Ah, yes I do. Jordan too," he motioned after the blonde. "It was a late game, and James never does well with
guests in the stands," Kris fibbed, "Especially if
there was a pretty little thing like you in the crowd rooting for him—he’d be
useless,”

Charlie stepped towards Kris and placed a hand on his arm, “I
like him!” she exclaimed.

James rolled his eyes, removing her hand from his teammates
muscular arm, “So you’ve said,”

She laughed before drinking the last of her drink and
excusing herself to the ladies room. The
second she was out of earshot James turned to Kris and practically bowed down
to him. “Thank you Tanger, I don’t
know—I panicked!” he cried.

“I’m not always going to be there James,” Kris said like a
disappointed father.

James ran a hand through his messy hair, “I know, I
know. I’m going to tell her. I am.”

--

Charlie came back refreshed to find Kris and James in an
intense conversation. She cleared her
throat so she wouldn’t hear anything they didn’t want her to. Kris whipped around and James plastered on a
fake smile. He rubbed the back of his
neck—which Charlie was beginning to think was a nervous habit.

“Ma belle!” Kris grinned.
“I do believe you owe me a dance,”

She squealed, placing her hand in his and letting him lead
to the dance floor below. It was hot and
sweaty bodies were bumping into them from all sides. Charlie usually didn’t dance in public so
willingly—but then again, liquor can make people do anything.

Kris twirled her around before stepping in, bringing her
hands around his neck. His hands rested
her on her hips respectively, and they quickly found a rhythm to the music blaring
through the speakers. They hips swayed
close together as they danced for the first song not saying a word.

Charlie was brought out of her daze when Kris leaned in to
talk. “So, you and James,” he
shouted. She eyed him, but couldn’t keep
a grin from her lips. “So, me and
James,” she mocked. Kris raised an
eyebrow, wanting her to continue.

She sighed and laughed, “He’s a great guy. I like him a lot.” A slight blush rose to her cheeks.

“And I know he likes you.
Just…” Kris struggled to find the words.
“Like you said, he’s a great guy—one of the best that I know. Just keep that in mind, ok? He always means well,”

She hadn’t realized but they had stopped dancing. Her stomach turned, but she couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or his words, “Kris, what
are you saying?”

“Nothing! Nothing,”
he reassured her. “But I will tell you
that jealousy does not look good on your man,” Kris laughed quietly before he dropped
his hands from Charlie’s waste. “James,”
Kris nodded before winking at Charlie and disappearing into the throng of
people.

Charlie turned around to find James, jealousy dripping down
his face.

“Oh hush,” Charlie swatted his chest. “It’s not like he’s got sex hair that you
just want to pull.”

James pulled her
against his chest tightly, muffling her laugh.
He snuck a thick thigh between hers and the two moved slowly against each other on the dance
floor.

Charlie wound her arms around his
neck and her hands ran through James' full hair.
“Hmmm, I’d say it’s a winner,”

Charlie giggled as she watched Date
Night, her laugh vibrating against James’ chest.

It was a low-key Thursday night. James didn’t like to do too much the night
before a game, so he suggested an early movie at Charlie’s place.

James was too tall to fit on her couch and had to bend his knees. Charlie snuggled in beside him
using his left arm as a pillow.

I don’t see what the
problem is with spooning, he thought. What guy wouldn't want this?

He thought the movie was funny, but not as much as
Charlie. She was laughing the
whole time, her head fell back against him with glee when she thought it was really funny. James loved the sound of it. When she thought something was funny she’d
scrunch her nose up and smile, a child-like giggle escaping. And when something was hysterical she would
through her head back, her eyes closed, as her mouth would open slightly but no
noise, she would just gasp for air.

But it was hard not to let his mind wander. Whenever Charlie would shift her t-shirt
would ride just a hair up her stomach.
James wanted so badly to move his hand from her hip to the exposed skin
just above her jeans.

Watch this, he snickered
to himself.

James reached across Charlie and grabbed the remote from the
table, turning it up just a notch. When
he drew his arm back, he draped his hand above her waist.

Slowly he began to twist the hem of her top around his fingers. After a few minutes, James slipped his hand
under her shirt, resting it gently on her stomach.

Charlie wrapped her leg back around his, she sighed and
cuddled in closer to him.

James dropped his head down and nuzzled into her neck. He placed a trail of kisses from her shoulder
blade to behind her ear.

“You’re missing the movie,” she giggled.

“I’ve seen it before,”
he whispered heavily in her ear before rolling onto her, securing her in his
arms. Charlie didn’t put up a fight, and
instead she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

James took in the sight before him, or under him
really.

His finger lightly traced the small curve of the bridge of
her nose, then along the faint scar just above her upper lip. She closed her eyes as James slowly counted
each freckle under her right eye. When
his fingers followed the soft line of her jaw he kissed her.

--

Tina Fey and Steve Carell no longer had their attention,
not when they were distracted with each other’s lips and hot-to-the-touch
skin.

All it took was for one kiss, one kiss and things got heated
pretty quickly.

James ducked down and kissed the flesh of her bare neckline,
occasionally grazing his teeth across her collarbone. Charlie threaded her fingers up into his
hair, clutching onto fistfuls whenever James would nip at her skin.

While one hand played with the boundaries and stroked along
the soft flesh just below her bra, the other moved down her back and grabbed onto her ass
firmly. He pulled her up to him as he
grinded himself down.

Charlie bit her lip as a battle between good and evil broke
out inside.

She’d be a liar—and an idiot—if she said she didn’t want
this. Quite honestly if things didn’t
stop there, she would regret nothing in the morning she was sure of it. James was winning her over, body and
mind. His charming personality and ridiculously
gorgeous body was becoming a fixture in her life.

But then it would creep up in the back of her mind, the idea
that things were moving too fast. She
hadn’t even known James for a month. For
some girls that doesn’t mean anything, but Charlie wasn’t one of them. She didn’t want be just another girl to
James, she wanted to be ‘the girl’.

Charlie was brought back to reality when James made his way
back up to her lips. The taste of his
kiss was intoxicating—like a drug, it had her doing things she wasn’t aware of.

Her hand had slipped under his sweater. She felt him grin against her lips when she
gasped a little at the feel of his toned abs.
Charlie dragged her nails across his taught stomach. James’ hand still gripped her ass, but she
was in full control when she raked her hips against his. It was his turn to gasp.

“Charlie, baby,” he moaned quietly. “We need to stop,”

“Mhm,” her breathing a little heavy, “You’re right,”

James kissed her deeply. Charlie bit his bottom lip and tugged on it
as he pulled away, winking when it slipped out of her hold.

“Fuck,” James grunted.

--

This girl is going to
be the death of me.

James grinned, stealing a glance from across the couch. He made her sit on the opposite side, their
legs intertwined between them. He had to
be stern with her though, grabbing her foot multiple times when she tried
snaking it up his leg.

When the movie was finally over, Charlie made a comment
about having to watch it again when James left to see all the parts she had
missed. For some odd reason that made
him proud.

Charlie was in the kitchen putting away their drinks and her leftover popcorn. James sat there on the couch,
his arms relaxed and lying on his stomach.
He was looking around the room when a picture caught his eye.

He had seen it before.
It was a photo of her with her mom and brother. They might not have known each other long, but he
thought he’d ask about the man missing.

“Where's your dad?” James held the up the
photo from her college graduation as he walked to her at the sink.

He must have caught her off guard because she dropped a dish
she had been washing. “Uh, what?” she
stuttered.

“Your dad,” he repeated casually. “Was he not there?”

Charlie stared at the picture for a minute, her expression
blank. “No, he wasn’t,” she answered
indifferent.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Charlie plopped down in her chair and the overstuffed folder
landed on her desk with a thud. She laid
her head back and closed her tired eyes.

They had just gotten out of a two hour-long session about
tending to their clients. Newly hired
Jessica asked a million questions, prolonging the best part of it—the end. She was all for giving clients what they
want, but she had been working with the company for almost two years now and
she was damn good at it.

Charlie had trained under president and boss, April,
something that doesn’t happen anymore with the company growing and all. Whenever they had a major client, she
shadowed April. And if she were too busy
to take on a small-scale project, Charlie was the one who’d take over.

Her phone buzzed from inside her purse, stopping her from
dozing off. It was from James.

Images of last night came flooding back. Though it wasn’t anything grand, just making
out like teenagers, it was still big for Charlie.

No dating, no relationships, and no hook ups—she hadn’t been
with anyone in almost a year. It took a
while for her to recover from the disaster left behind by the last guy she was
with.

There was something about James though, something that made
her want to try again.

Charlie opened her phone and read his text.

From: James

Have you grabbed lunch
yet?

To: James

Nope. What did you have in mind?

From: James

Meet you outside
Girasole in 15?

To: James

On my way!

She threw her phone in her purse and turned around to grab
her coat from the hook in the corner.
She was startled when she turned around to see April standing there.

“Where are you going?”

“To lunch?” she said slowly, like she wasn’t sure it was the
right answer.

“Just give me a second, I’ll go grab my things,”

“Uh, but uh,” Charlie stuttered. She sure as hell didn’t want April tagging
along, but she didn’t want to tell her why or about James—not yet at least.

“I’m actually meeting somebody,” she blurted out.

April studied her, her eyes boring into Charlie. Charlie couldn’t help but feel nervous,
checking her watch and playing with her hair, tucking it behind her ears.

Her boss crossed her arms and stood on her hip for emphasis,
“Who’s the guy?”

“Guy? What guy? There’s no guy,” she slid her coat on and
shuffled past April. “Gotta go, see you
in an hour!”

Charlie practically ran through the hallways—either because
she was running from her boss, or running to James, she wasn’t sure.

--

James stood outside the restaurant in the November cold all bundled up. The wind ripped through
Pittsburgh reminding everyone that winter was fast approaching.

He pulled his beanie down over his ears before shoving his
hands back into the pockets of his pea coat.

“It’s not that
cold,”

James grinned at Charlie as she walked up to him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

“I thought you were from Canada,” she teased. He held the door open for her, shooing her
into the warm restaurant.

He stared subtly as Charlie shed her winter wear, revealing
a tan long sleeved sweater dress. A
skinny belt accentuated her curvy waist and the dark brown flat-heeled boots kept
it casual.

It took him a second to realize that she was talking to him,
“James?”

“Hmm? What?” She pointed towards the hostess.

“Oh, sorry,” he mumbled.

She just smiled and asked him again, “Mr. Neal would you
like a table in the back as usual?”

James nodded and gestured Charlie to go ahead and follow the hostess, any opportunity to stare at her figure again.

When they were seated and left alone in the back corner of
the restaurant, James leaned across the table and kissed Charlie gently on the
lips.

“I forgot to do that,” he smiled.

Her eyes fluttered and she licked her lips before hiding her
blushing cheeks behind the lunch menu.
James didn’t need to look at the menu, he got the same thing every time
he came, so instead he just ogled her.

Their waiter was quick to greet them and just as quick to fill
their drink order.

Charlie cleared her throat and played with the straw in her
water. “So uh, do you take all your
dates here?” she laughed nervously. “I
mean they seem to know you pretty well,”

James couldn’t help but smile at her worry. “I come here with my teammates sometimes,
good food,” he slid his leg between hers comfortingly.

The conversation flowed easily after that. He asked about her day at work and let her
vent about some long meeting she had to attend for no reason. When their food arrived it was quieter as
both enjoyed their dishes.

He was picking at her dish when he noticed someone walking
up to the table.

“Well ‘allo there James,”

Oh dear God no.

“Hey Tanger,” he anxiously greeted his teammate.

Kris stood there bouncing on the balls of his feet, glancing
between James and Charlie.

“James, are you going to introduce me to this beautiful
lady?” he eyed him.

No. Now go away.

“Yes, right. Kris
this is Charlotte, Charlotte meet Kris,”

Kris surprised her by grabbing the hand she held out to shake his, taking it and kissing the back of her hand, “Bonjour Charlotte,”

James couldn’t help but noticed the blush on Charlie’s
cheeks as she smiled shyly.

God damn him and that French accent!

“It’s so nice to finally meet you. James here has told me so much about you,”

“Well I mean, I,” he stuttered.

Charlie winked at him, “Good things I hope,”

“What else would there be?” Kris pretended to be shocked,
holding a hand to his heart.

She giggled, “I like him,”

James forced a small laugh.

“So are you joining us for a night out on Friday?”

Charlie looked across the table cocking an eyebrow.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be up for it, I was going to—”

“James, it’s ok,” she reassured him with a smile.

“We have a game on Friday.
A bunch of the guys were thinking of heading out to the club afterwards,”
he explained quickly.

Kris smiled merrily as James mad an ass out of himself. “I’m sad to say that my teammate here is a
fool,” he snickered. “However I am happy
to hear that you’re not taken! I would
love for you to be my date on Friday,” he laid it on thick and put a hand softly on her shoulder, letting it linger.

Hands off.

James’ fists clenched underneath the table, “Kris,” he
growled.

Tanger through his hands up in defense, “Alright,
alright. But I will have to claim you
for a dance, I’m a great dancer,” he grinned, kissing her hand once more.

“See you Nealer,” he winked at him, giving him a punch in the arm.

James sat there for a minute, his body rigid and mind
elsewhere. Charlie just rested her
elbows on the table and waited.

--

Waiting, waiting.

Charlie sat there patiently—sort of—until James snapped out
of whatever daze he was in.

“I’m, I’m sorry about him.
Kris is,” he paused to think of the word.

“Playful?” she winked.

James laughed. “I
really was going to ask,” he reassured her.

She reached for his hand to give it a squeeze, and pulled it back so they could finish their meal.

Charlie was quick to grab the bill when it came, James had
been so gracious before and she thought it was her turn to pay.

James helped her into her jacket and followed her out of the
restaurant.

“I’m this way,” she pointed over her shoulder towards her
building.

He gestured in the opposite direction, “I’m this way,”

She pulled on the lapel of his jacket, running it through
her fingers.

“Come with me on Friday?” James asked a bit pleadingly.

Charlie toyed with him, “Hmmm, that depends,”

“On?”

“If you’re as good as a dancer as Kris claims to be,” she
giggled.

James rolled his eyes.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him.

“Oh, I’m very good
on the dance floor,” he said softly.

Charlie leaned in and kissed him, “I’ll be the judge of
that.” She gave him one more kiss before
leaving the warm embrace of his arms to walk back to her office.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

He almost told her, he wasn’t
sure why he didn’t. It’s not that James
didn’t think she’d be ok with it—ok that’s exactly what James thought. He knew her well enough to know that she
wouldn’t react like a puck bunny, but what he didn’t know is whether or not
she’d want to put up with it.

Late nights, wins, losses, traveling, the media. Puck bunnies even. It’s a lot for someone to take on, a lot for
James to throw at a girl.

“I, uh, I play hockey.
In a social league, type thing.” James stuttered

She paused to think about his question, sipping her wine. “I love the idea. But I don’t think it’s something I’d actually
do.” James motioned for her to
continue. “I don’t think I have the
skill to create something from nothing.
My boss always talks about how hard it was for her to get going, I don’t
know how she kept up with it,”

Charlie was silent for a moment staring off, lost in her own
thoughts. “And honestly, I’m quite happy
at where I am,” she looked at James with a truthful smile.

--

Charlie watched as James cleaned up the kitchen, the tables
turning from their first dinner. The
polo he wore put his arms on display—his huge, muscular arms. And that ass, a cup could sit on that rear
end.

Is it the hockey that
gave him that? God bless hockey!

As James finished up Charlie grabbed their wine and took a
seat on the leather couch. A few minutes
later James joined her, picking up his glass she had put on the coffee table
and taking a seat on her left.

And by next to her, he was practically on top of her.

His arm lazily fell behind her head and across the back of
the sofa. His thick thigh was pressed
flush with hers. Charlie saw his lips
moving as he talked enthusiastically but couldn’t hear a thing he said. Her mind was focused on keeping herself from
attacking him.

She took a deep breath to relax her, but instead she inhaled
the scent of his rugged, woodsy cologne.
Delicious, she thought.

“Charlie?”

Charlie snapped out of her hypnosis, caught red handed.

“You alright?” James asked.

She bobbed her head up and down. Her eyes were unable to choose which to rest
on, his lips or his eyes that peered down at her.

James smiled and his tongue slowly licked his bottom lip.

Charlie fought back a whimper.

--

Did she just
whimper? Well I mean if she’s going to
whimper I might as well give her something to whimper about, right?

James took the wine glass from Charlie’s hand, her grip
releasing it easily. He placed them on
the coffee table before leaning back.

He shifted his body towards her and brushed away the hair
that had fallen from its place, a classic move.
He leaned in and their eyes met, making sure he wasn’t misreading any
signals.

Apparently, it wasn’t that he was misreading signals, but
that he wasn’t acting on them fast enough.

Before James knew it Charlie had closed the gap between them and her
mouth slammed into his.

James pulled back.
His fingers against his lips, “Ow,”

Charlie looked mortified.
Her blue eyes were wide as her hands clamped over her mouth. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” she mumbled
beneath them.

“I didn’t mean to—I was just trying—I haven’t done this in a
while,” she tried explaining, her words coming out incredibly fast.

James couldn’t help but laugh. He pressed his hand over her mouth to silence
her, but she continued talking. His eyes
bore into hers and she finally hushed.

“How about we try it again?” he whispered.

Charlie nodded slowly and James removed his hand, only for
it to cup her cheek.

“I got this,” James laughed.
She groaned in embarrassment, but did as he told.

James took his sweet time lowering his mouth to hers. He brushed his lips lightly across hers
repeatedly before they came to a rest.

Gently, James kissed her full lips.

Finally.

--

Finally.

I could die right
now. This might be Heaven.

Charlie sat still while James tortured her, his lips
brushing hers here and there. When
he finally kissed her full on, she about lost it.

James’ hands wandered down her side and stroked her thigh,
while her own snaked their way around his collared neck. Afraid to disobey and make a move, Charlie
parted her lips just so.

James didn’t hesitate to take advantage and faintly traced
her bottom lip with his tongue. Charlie
moaned in appreciation, and their tongues quickly entangled. They took their time memorizing the feel of
one another’s lips, the feel of their kiss.

Charlie’s breath hitched in her throat when she felt his
hand just under the hem of her skirt.

--

Too far.

“I’m sorry,” James pulled away and apologized, his breathing heavy. He pressed his forehead against hers and
whispered again, “Sorry,”

Charlie silenced him with a gently kiss. “It’s ok,”

He enveloped her in a hug and nuzzled into her neck. They sat like that for a few minutes, Charlie
gently stroking his back.

“James?” she murmured.
He answered with a grunt.

“I should get going,”

James squeezed her tighter, but he knew she was right. He pulled away and stole another kiss before
helping her off the couch and into her jacket.

In the car James grabbed Charlie’s hand and held it between
them, rubbing his thumb slowly against her soft skin. He wanted to take the long way, or a wrong
turn—whatever got him more time with her.
But his better judgment told him not to.

He parked outside her apartment and held her hand as he
walked her up to her door.

“Thank you for dinner,”

Charlie smiled bashfully, “I had a great time tonight,”

James leaned down and kissed her once more. “I want to see you soon,” he whispered
against her lips.

“You better,” she smiled, kissing his cheek and sneaking
into her apartment before they could do anything else.

James was hovering over her shoulder as she read her list
for the tenth time. He had been doing
that down every isle, standing immensely close to her. It wasn’t safe for either of them. She turned around and pushed James gently
towards the cart before wandering down the isle.

They had stopped off at a grocery store outside of downtown
Pittsburgh after he finally decided on what he’d like for dinner. Charlie had to hide the smile as she
remembered meeting him in a store just like the one they were currently
shopping at.

“All we need now is broccoli. I’ve got wine at my place if you’re alright
with that,” She looked back to James as he came to a stop next to her.

“I think we need to grab some more,” he suggested, already
turning the cart towards the wine isle.

Charlie shook her head, “I’m sure I have a full bottle,” her
words were ignored, as James was already halfway down the store. Charlie had to jog to catch up with him,
which in heels wasn’t a great idea.

James insisted on paying for the groceries. The two took them out to the car and were
quickly back on the road.

When he didn’t turn back to town, Charlie knew James had
something up his sleeve. She just eyed
him as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the
radio. His smile never faded, but only
grew when he’d catch her staring. They
spent the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence, their arms resting on the
center console brushed more than a few times.

--

James drove down through the neighborhood that was quickly
becoming more and more familiar to him.
He pulled into a driveway of a nice size, two car garage, brick
house. He put the car in park and turned
off the engine. Silence quickly filled
the car.

“Where are we?” Charlie asked, looking around at all the
houses on the street.

He smiled proudly, “My house.” James jumped out of the car and opened the
door for Charlie. She looked pensive as
they grabbed the groceries from the trunk and made their way up the front walk.

“I thought you lived in an apartment downtown?”

“I do, well I did. It
was temporary, until I was finished with the house,” he explained, fiddling
with the keys before the door clicked open.

Charlie followed James in to the small foyer. Their steps echoed on the hardwood floor as
they walked down the long hallway and into the kitchen.

James took the bags from her and began laying everything
out. “Please, make yourself at home,” he
insisted.

Her fingers began work on the buttons of her long dark green
coat. Charlie walked through the modern
and sleek kitchen. The pale grey room was
complimented with stainless steal appliances, and black, rustic cabinets. White granite covered the countertops and
massive island. Open to the kitchen, the
family room had a similar feel. The
cream walls balanced the kitchen well, and a dark brown leather L couch faced
the dark wood framed fireplace. A few
pieces of art hung on the walls, but for the most part it was simple and
uncluttered.

She made a full circle of the first floor, having shed her
jacket in the hallway closet. She met
James at the counter. “Time to get to
work!”

Charlie was quick to begin cooking. Salad, broccoli and chicken were on the
menu. She was mixing the dry ingredients
for the chicken when she looked up and caught James staring.

“I don’t think I told you this yet, but you look beautiful
tonight,” he said softly. She watched as
his eyes slowly admired her from head to toe.
Charlie could feel his stare burn through the purple sheer top she had
tucked into a high wasted, tight fitted skirt.

“You need something to do,” she laughed nervously. Her head shook at how silly she was being
around him. C’mon girl, it’s not like you’ve never liked a guy before!

She asked for him to get a cutting knife and handed James
some vegetables to cut up. They stood
alongside each other at the counter, they arms and hips bumping gingerly.

--

With a bit of teamwork, the chicken was prepped and in the
oven by 7:30. Charlie poured them both a
glass of wine while James turned on the fireplace in the family room. They stayed away from the couch, knowing that
it was too soon in the night to be that close to each other.

Leaning against counters opposite from one another, she took
a sip of her wine. “It’s beautifully
done,” she complimented.

James looked at his home, and smiled proudly. “I’d have to agree,” he also took a sip of
wine. “I’d like to take all the credit,
but my mom and a designer did most of the work,”

Charlie put down her glass to check on the chicken while
James continued. “We’re close, but we
still have some rooms to finish. I just
can’t wait until the basement is done, have the team over, it should be fun,”

Charlie had just stepped out of the shower and was drying
herself off when she heard her phone go off in the bedroom.

She secured the towel around her figure before she padded over to her
bedside table. She answered without
looking at the caller ID, “Hello there!”

“Hello to you to!” she could hear him smile through the
phone.

Though it felt like a moth, James had been gone for 9
days. There wasn’t a day where he didn’t
text or call Charlie back in Pittsburgh, The conversation was light as
always—how their day had been, TV shows that they were watching… His work had
taken him to Canada and California, and even with the time changes they still
managed to talk.

“Our plane gets in late tonight, early morning for you,” he
paused. Charlie pictured him rubbing the
back of his neck, “but uh, would you maybe want to have dinner with me tomorrow
night?”

At that moment Charlie was quite happy she wasn’t with James
in person. She bit her bottom lip as she
smiled and did a little hop, holding tight onto her towel. She waved her hand over her face as a way to
compose herself.

“Damn,” Charlie mumbled.
“I’m sorry, James I can’t. I
already had plans tomorrow night.” She didn’t bother to hide her
disappointment.

“Oh,” James said, just as disappointed. “A hot date?” he laughed.

Did he sound nervous? Charlie thought.

“No!” she answered too quickly and rolled her eyes. “A-hem.
I mean no, just a family dinner.”

Charlie swore she heard him sigh in relief, which only made
her do the same.

“I’m free Monday,”

--

James must have glanced at the clock on the wall at least a
hundred times, he was sure that time was fighting against him. The minutes passed by so slowly James thought
his clock might have been broken, he replaced its batteries twice already.

He would have been happier to see Charlie when he got home
on Sunday, but she was already busy. Can you just imagine how anxious I’d be if it
were later in the week?! He laughed
at himself.

Instead they decided on dinner Monday night and Charlie
insisted on repaying James for the Chinese by making dinner. James was going he pick her up at her office
at 6 and take them to the grocery store to pick up any ingredients she’d need
for cooking.

After all the NHL Network he could take, James checked the
clock once more. He bolted from his
couch when he saw it was 5 o’clock. He
took a quick shower, before shaving what little facial hair had grown in the
past few days.

“I’ve never been more grateful to have no roommates,” James
mumbled to himself as he stood in his closet trying on shirt after shirt. He’d get it from them if they knew how much
of girl he was being.

Settling on a pair of tailored khakis and an army green polo,
he headed back into the bathroom for the final piece to the puzzle.

The hair.

He could have left it alone and just put some gel in it, but
he washed it for tonight was a special occasion. James lined up his comb and hair products in
a line and got to work.

It began with running the towel over his head, getting it
dry. Next, James combed it before
blow-drying it a bit, making sure it was stick straight. Then he squeezed gel into his hands, and ran
his hands through his hair.

Front to back. Back
to front. Right side and up. Left side and up. Mess it up—run hands all over. Scrunch.
Fluff. Done.

James stepped into his bedroom and took a look at the time
on his phone. It was time to go, so he
grabbed his keys and winter jacket and headed for the front door. He made sure to stop and take a look at the
finished product in the hallway mirror.

Damn, he grinned.

Go get ‘em tiger.

--

He pulled up to the address she had texted him earlier and
parked out front. As he got out of the
car he saw Charlie come through the glass doors.

James pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and checked his watch, he
wasn’t late—right on time actually.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she beamed as she
walked down the stone steps.

“I would’ve come up to your office and got you. I hope you weren’t waiting long,” he said.

She came to a stop just a foot from him, “Which is exactly
why I came down. My boss is also my
friend, so you’d get the third degree. And probably her phone number,” Charlie giggled.

“Ah, so you’re actually saving me,” James joked.

For just a minute they stood there smiling at each other
before Charlie shook her head. “Fine,
fine. I’ll give,” she closed the gap
between them and wrapped her arms around James’ neck. He reveled in the feeling of her so close to
him, but he wished her thick jacket wasn’t in the way of his hands holding her
waist.

Charlie was the first to pull away. “Shall we?”

James held the passenger door open for her, before he ran
around to his side. He eased his way into the afternoon traffic, the roar of his Mercedes' engine masking the revving of their own engines inside.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Charlie fell against the back of the chair and sighed. She kept her eyes closed, bracing herself for
what she knew was coming.

“He surprised you with dinner, stayed all night ‘talking’—”

“Don’t do that!” Charlie groaned, smacking down the hands of
her best friend, “Don’t do the air quotations.
We really did talk!”

Tori rolled her eyes, “Yea, ok. And I’m a princess,”

“Baby, you’re my princess!” her fiancé, Andrew, called from
inside their family room.

Charlie stuck her finger in her mouth, like she was
gagging. “Oh hush!” Tori chastised
before continuing on her rant. “And
you’ve only met him once?”

“Well technically twice, but the second time was for like a
second—”

“Didn’t he walk you home once?” Charlie nodded yes. “Jesus Charlotte, I never thought you were
the type of girl who would put out on the first date,”

“Tori!” she could feel her cheeks reddening. “I did not sleep with him, do anything with
him! Thanks for thinking so much of me,
‘best friend,’” she mocked her using air quotations.

“Oh, you know I’m joking,” Tori got up to make another pot
of coffee. “But seriously, you met in a grocery store and he shows up at your
place? That’s kind of weird, if you ask
me.”

Charlie had to admit, she was a bit shocked at first. James had shown up with dinner out of the
blue, and ended up staying over until almost 2 am. But all they did was talk, and it was
actually really relaxing and fun.
Charlie couldn’t remember the last time she enjoyed talking with someone
as much as she had that night—the conversation flowed so easily.

“I don’t know, he was…” Charlie paused, trying to sum up his
laid back attitude and charismatic personality.

“Damn girl,” Tori said, leaning up against the counter with a
new cup of coffee, warm in her hands.
“Look at you, you can’t stop smiling,”

Charlie blushed as her best friend gawked at her.

“When do you see him next?” she asked excitedly.

“I’m not sure. He had
a business trip he was going on—he left today, I think. He said that’s why he surprised me, he didn’t
want to wait until he got back to see me,”

“Um, swoon!” Tori gasped and placed a hand to her heart, making
Charlie laugh. Andrew yelled from the
other room, “Now that’s gag worthy,”

--

Their plan landed in Toronto late Friday afternoon. Though November was just a few days away,
when the sun went down the Canadian air dropped until it felt like the middle
of a harsh winter.

He looked around for his roommate on the road Paul Martin. To make things easier he always grabbed both
their sets of room keys—it meant for a quicker escape from the masses
downstairs. He spotted the blonde
defenseman by the elevators and weaved his way through his teammates, just
making it inside the elevator before the doors closed.

James followed Paul into their room, throwing his suitcase
on the bed by the window. He took a seat
on the edge and pulled out his phone.

No New Text Messages.

He sighed, tossing the phone beside him.

Since when did I
become one of those guys—the kind
that checks their phone every 5 seconds to see if she’s texted? I’ve known this girl for what, two weeks and
I’m already hooked.

The banging on the hotel room door snapped James out of his
daze. He glanced over at Martin who was lying
down and about to pass out. James
grabbed his phone and room key and headed to the elevator.

James met up with a couple of guys in the lobby, mostly the
younger players—Sidney Crosby, Geno Malkin, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Flower
and Tyler “TK” Kennedy. They bundled up
before heading out to a steakhouse just a couple blocks from their hotel.

He lasted almost 15 minutes once they sat down without
having to check his phone. But an empty
mailbox was all he found.

When he left Charlie’s that night, he made sure to exchange
numbers with her. He didn’t want to have
to track her down again—though she said having his number wasn’t as charming as
him stalking her.

Now she’s just making fun of him. He pulled her in for a hug and held her
close, kissing her cheek softly before saying goodnight.

Slow and steady wins
the race, he repeated over and over.

“Nealer, quite looking at your damn phone,” Jordan chirped
from across the table. “Fuck off, I was
just checking the time,” James shrugged.

“Either you’ve got fucking early onset Alzheimer’s or you’re
waiting for someone to hit you up,”

“Jamesy, you got girl waiting for you?” Geno said as more of
a statement than question. His broken
English made it seem less annoying than Staal’s. “She have friend for Geno, no?”

He just shook his head and took a sip of his beer. Staal leaned forward to fire back when Kris
jumped up from his seat beside him yelping, throwing a lobster head he found in
his suit pocket on the table. As always,
all eyes turned to Flower who was howling.

Just as James slid his phone back into his pocket, it
buzzed. He looked up to make sure all
the guys weren’t looking in his direction, especially the tall, lanky
blonde. Using the tablecloth to dim the
bright light of his iPhone, he pulled it out as secretly as he could.

1 New Text Message.

His thumb swiftly pressed ‘Open.’

From: Charlie

I wish you were here…

James couldn’t keep the grin from stretching ear to ear—that
is until he realized that there was more to that text.

From: Charlie

I wish you were here
to witness the awkwardness that just occurred with my landlord

To: Charlie

I do have a love for
awkward situations *shoop shoop shoop*

From: Charlie

Har. Har.

From: Charlie

I was just
interrogated about the ‘devilishly handsome man’ that left my apartment late
the other night

To: Charlie

You don’t have to put
that in quotes, I know that’s what you think of me

From: Charlie

You’re right, your
beauty just astounds me

To: Charlie

I get that a lot. I wouldn’t blame you if you just fell at my
feet and did as I told

From: Charlie

Ah, if only that dream
of yours would come true…

To: Charlie

Don’t they say ‘dreams
can come true’?

From: Charlie

Yes, yes they do. But then again we live in Pittsburgh, not
Disney Land

To: Charlie

Damn. I’ll have to request a transfer to Anaheim

From: Charlie

Tell Bobby Ryan I say
hi! He’s a dreamboat

To: Charlie

He has a lisp!

From: Charlie

James, don’t be mean!
It’s cute! Kind of sexy… in a way

To: Charlie

I worry about you

From: Charlie

As do I, as do I. Hope
your trip is going well

To: Charlie

I’m surrounded by a
bunch of boys who pull pranks with lobsters… I wish I was back in Pit with you…

Before he could read what Charlie said back, his phone was
snatched out of his hands. TK held his
phone with his left hand, furthest from James.

“Woah, Charlie? Uh,
dude, are you gay?” TK stared at him, wide eyed. “I mean, not that that’s a problem,”

“What?! No!” James
panicked. “No I’m not gay! Charlie is short for Charlotte. Tell ‘em Kris!”
he stuttered.

Kris had been with James when he ran into Charlie at the
coffee shop. When they were on their way
out Kris just gave him a look—a look that said ‘tell me who she is or I’ll
embarrass you.’

Naturally, James was quick to fill him on their brief
relationship. He knew that he’d lose to
Kris if he had gone up to Charlie, that man has a way with women. James felt that he was man enough to make the
statement that he was one good-looking guy, with an amazing head of hair.

“’I wouldn’t blame you if you fell at my feet and did as I
told’? Jesus Nealer, does that actually
work for you?” TK asked, scrolling through the conversation with Charlie.

James reached for his phone but the forward was too fast, pulling
away. He started to text on his phone
and James began panicking again.

“Kennedy, don’t,” he growled.

“What, I’m not going to embarrass you or anything,” His evil
grin said differently. TK made sure to
emphasize when he pressed ‘send’ before handing back the phone. James took it hastily, scrolling through his
phone for any damage. His eyes about
popped out of his head when he saw what TK had texted Charlie.

From: Charlie

Why do boys play with
their food… I’ll be sure to pay you back for dinner the other night when you
get back in town

To: Charlie

I know how you can pay
me back. It involves playing… but not
with food

“What the hell, man!” TK dove out of his seat before James
could hit him.

He chuckled as he moved to the empty chair on the other side
of the table, “Just trying to help your game bro,”

“Alright boys, hand ‘em over,” Sidney took off his beanie
and threw his credit card in, passing it around for all the guys to do the
same. It was their way of picking someone
to pay for dinner. Throw everyone’s
credit card in a hat and have the unbiased (usually) waiter them out one by one
until there’s one left—the sucker who has to pay for the meals of multiple 200
pound hockey players.

She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly walked up to him
at the end of the table. James couldn’t
hear him from a couple seats down, but he couldn’t miss the rush of redness
that appeared on her cheeks when he spoke to her.

Either she’s that star
stuck or he told her he was going to take her to a bed & breakfast on the
beach—with no plans of seeing the ocean, James thought.

One by one a credit card was pulled… first it was Flower,
Staal, and then Crosby—who gave her a quick wink.

It totally was rigged.

Geno stood up and raised his arms Rocky style when his card
was pulled before Staal’s. It was down
to TK and Kris, and the boys gave a drum roll as Brittany pulled out the runner
up.

“Kristopher Letang,” she announced quietly. Kris gave her a wink.

I like to call that
the panty dropper.

She called his name and TK slapped the edge of the table
with his palms. “God damn it!”

James couldn’t help but laugh. Karma’s
a bitch TK!

He stayed behind to pay while the rest of the guys filed out
of the restaurant and back towards the hotel.
While they stood outside in the cold air Sidney looked over to James.

“I thought that was good enough payback,” he giggled his
high-pitched laugh, and bumped James in the shoulder.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the lone source
of light from the muted TV.
She had woken suddenly to a loud noise, and found herself hunched over
on the couch in her family room. What
was meant to be a short twenty-minute nap lasted two hours.

Knock, Knock.

Startled again by the noise, Charlie peeled herself off the
couch quickly. She arched her back and cracked it before she switched on a few lights while heading to her
apartment door. The old lock slid open
easily for Charlie as she greeted her unexpected guest.

“Hey—” James cocked his head to the side, “Were you
sleeping?”

Rubbing her eyes she mumbled no, making James chuckle.

“Well I hope you’re not too tired to eat, I practically
cleaned out the Chinese place down the street,” he held up the large brown bag
in his hands before motioning inside the apartment. "I wasn't sure what you liked."

--

James felt bad as he watched Charlie struggle to hide her
yawn. She stepped to the side to let him in and closed the door. They stood in hallway while she
took a moment or two to wake up.

There were two doors opposite the front door that led to a
full bath and the other was where the laundry machine quietly hummed as it
washed the items within. To the left of
the front door were the kitchen and family room. And to the right was a single door that was
slightly ajar, what James could only assume was the bedroom.

After a 360 tour from his perch inside the doorway he
turned back to Charlie as she came to, eyeing the bag of food resting in his
left arm. He laughed as she licked her
lips in hunger.

“Lets eat!” Charlie
led him into the kitchen and grabbed plates and silverware from various
cabinets. James laid out the food on the
counter top before he draped his jacket on the back of a nearby chair.

“What would you like to drink?” she asked from inside the
fridge, her ass in the air. James couldn’t help but admire
the view. “I’ve got water, orange juice…
and one Natty Light,” she held up the beer like Vanna White.

He laughed, “Though you make it look very tasty, I think
I’ll go with water,” Charlie pouted before trading the beer for a pitcher of
water. “I'll never get rid of that Natty,”
she sighed.

James took a seat next to Charlie at the breakfast bar,
discreetly inching his stool a bit closer to hers as he sat down. Charlie was
quick to claim all the broccoli and chicken, but as for the rest they helped
themselves to the numerous dishes.

“How are you?” James asked, making small talk in between bites. “I haven’t seen you down at the grocery store recently, and Janet said she hasn't seen you either.”

Smooth man, he
shook his head as Charlie giggled at him.

“Uh yea, I guess I haven’t needed to make a grocery run lately,” she
picked up a bite of the sweet and sour chicken with her fork, “Been kind of busy
lately,”

Turning slightly to the left towards Charlie, his knee
brushed against the side of her leg.
She didn’t move away and James kept his leg there.

“Have a lot going on at work? Where exactly is work for you—I actually
don’t know anything about you really,” James admitted with a bashful smile. He was startled when Charlie’s fork clanged
against her plate.

“Ok, I mean this with no intention to be rude," she smiled warmly, "Though I am enjoying this free meal. And I guess it’s always nice to have company
for dinner, but what are you doing here?”

--

After dinner, and trying to sound as casual as possible in saying he wanted to see her again so he brought dinner, Charlie had insisted on doing the cleaning. That was fine with James who was left to himself. He happily sat back with his
arms across his chest, and took in the sight before him.

Torn up light blue jeans sat low on Charlie’s hip. The grey t-shirt was a size too small, though
James wasn’t about to complain. Her soft curves and flat stomach were playing peek-a-boo when she'd reach up into the overhead cabinets. His eyes fixed on how
tight the shirt was across her chest as she moved around in the kitchen.

Standing at the sink in the island, Charlie was rinsing a
plate with the spray when just a bit of water hit the plate at an odd angle and
lightly sprayed her shirt. It was barely
any and so cliche, but James couldn’t help himself as he licked his lips.

Calm down, boy. Let’s take this slow, he thought.

“Mind if I take a look around?” he asked over the clanging
dishes, already up and wandering around before Charlie answered.

He studied the photos lined up on the TV console. There were a few of her and some girlfriends. At the bar and holding up shots, as kids, at a birthday party. Her smile always reached her
eyes and long blond hair framed the face that James was growing to like more
and more.

Another photo was a family one. There was no doubt that the woman who was
holding Charlie close was her mother, she was her spitting image. On the other side of her mom was a young,
good-looking guy who James assumed was her brother. No father though, he'd wait to ask about that until he got to know her better.

“You all look alike, he said softly, but loud enough for Charlie to hear, "You have the same smile,” He looked over his shoulder to see her
smiling like she was proud.

He moved along with the tour of her family room. The walls were
painted a pale lime green, giving the room a soft glow even at night. Two orange and plush looking chairs winged a
modern, khaki colored couch. Accents in
the cream curtains, the swanky rug and personal accessories were what made
the area cozy and stylish.

James sat down on the couch and sunk into the cushions. He was looking at the vintage wooden trunk
that acted as a coffee table when his eyes glanced over the numerous papers and
photos scattered on top. He narrowed in
on what looked to be a seating chart. He
scooted a paper over to read what t was, ‘Wedding Reception Seating Chart.’

It was like tunnel vision—he couldn’t see anything else but
the wedding plans laid out before him.

Holy shit, she’s
getting married! Damn, what a lucky son
of a bitch. Wait, he’s not here. Which means he’ll come home. To find another man in his house, hitting on
his woman… I. Am. Outta. Here.

James shot off the couch and paced for a few steps. He rubbed the back of his neck, a habit of his
whenever he’s nervous.

“James, are you ok?”

--

James must not have noticed her walk up beside him. He stumbled to the side and into a table by
the chair. His quick reflexes came in
handy to catch the lamp that almost shattered on the hardwood floor.

Ok, I don’t get
you. You come to my place unannounced and
now you’re trying to escape me as if I've got a disease. She stuck her hands in her the
back pockets of jeans, keeping her head down slightly. “If you have to get going… thanks for dinner...”

James cleared his throat, looking over his shoulder at the
coffee table. “I just don’t want to keep
you from your wedding plans,” he pointed.

Charlie couldn’t help it as her face fell and she rolled her
eyes. “Ugh,” she tilted her head to the side, running her hands down her face, “I
can’t wait for it to be over!”

James took a step back and his hand pulled away from
grabbing his jacket. “Shouldn’t you be
excited? It is a big day,”

“I mean, I guess I am,” Charlie shrugged. She walked over to the charts and papers
giving them a once over. “I was doing it
as a favor, but it's just been one crazy mess.
She totally owes me,”

She took a seat on the couch and looked up to see James step
in front of her. His head thrashed from
side to side, “I didn’t know gay marriage was legal in Pennsylvania,”

“Gay? Tori isn’t
gay,” Charlie couldn’t help but laugh.

“Tori?”

“Yea? She’s the one you met for a quick second the other day
at the coffee shop. Well she's gone by
Victoria ever since college. Apparently
Tori isn’t feminine enough for her,” she scoffed, “She thinks I’m a tomboy for
going by Charlie instead of Charlotte.
‘What if someone sees your name and thinks you’re a guy? That would be so embarrassing,'Cause you're not!'" Charlie mocked. "Thanks for stating the obvious Tor,"

Quit rambling! You’re being ridiculous, ugh!.

James plopped down on the couch next to her, grinning like a
Cheshire cat.

One damn good-looking
Cheshire cat, she involuntarily thought.

“What about you?” he asked.

“Me? I prefer
Charlie. I think it's cute! And I just, I don’t like how I got my
name,” her smile faltered a bit but if James noticed he didn’t say a thing.

James peered over his shoulder at her as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His wide
shoulders stretched the fabric of his white button-up. He had a five o'clock shadow, and boy did it work for him. His hair was spiked up a bit and was a little
long, brushing against the tips of his ears. She had to sit
on her hands to stop her fingers from playing with it.

“So there’s no special man in your life?”

Charlie smiled shyly.
“No,” She looked up and her eyes met with James’. “But there is this guy I met at the grocery
store,”

He sat back and laid an arm across the back of the couch.

When did he get so
close?

“Is that so?” James asked all cocky.

“Yea. Kind of cute,
but a bit of a stalker. Kind of creepy.” she said with a straight face.

James just smiled. “I
don’t stalk, I just run into you in a premeditated manner,”

Charlie laughed loudly and her head fell back slightly. Her giggle faded out and she
looked back at him and sighed.

Woah. Did he just lick
his lips? Stop staring at his mouth, look away from his lips. Stop!

James laughed.

What? Did I say something
funny? Did he say something funny? Shit. Laugh, or he’ll notice you’re not paying
attention!

She let a small, light laugh escape.

He licked ‘em
again! He knows I'm staring!

James leaned in close, his face only a few inches from hers. "If you ask me, I think Charlie is a sexy name for a girl," he winked.

About Me

I have a passion for writing and an imagination that runs wild and free...
Though I'm old enough to realize some things won't come true, it can't hurt to dream a little...
"Life without dreaming is a life without meaning" -WALE

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**This is a work of fiction. All names and characters are either invented or used fictitiously. The fictional work is, to the best of the author's knowledge, only inspired by their own ideas and other works, and have not been taken from other writers.**